The announcement follows a similar move by larger rival Royal Dutch/Shell Group, which said two years ago it would shed 40 percent of its chemical assets to focus on commodity chemicals. There, large production and cheap access to oil-based raw materials offer a competitive advantage.

The two plastic-processing businesses BP wants to sell employ approximately 7,000 people, of whom 4,000 are in the U.S. and 2,000 in Germany, according to BP sources.

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